Some twenty years ago, I had a business appointment in Richmond, Virginia. My client was kind enough to schedule an afternoon golf outing at his local club. Somewhere on the back nine (in wet conditions), I took a significant divot. Fine, it was a really significant divot. Moments later, on my return trip to the scene of the crime, pelt in hand, my host sauntered over to take a closer look. In a slow, southern drawl, he simply said “you could bury a small dog in that thing”.
Through the years I have been known to dig in a bit!
Because of my ailment, I have always been extremely self-conscious/embarrassed at the driving range. More frequently than not, my stall looked like “Beirut”! Thankfully a few years ago I was watching a fellow “range hound” that clearly knew what he was doing. His divot pattern was a long straight line; organized, neat, simple and clearly quite different than anything I had experienced.
I have since come to find out that there are three distinct (range) divot patterns;
• Scattered: Random pattern that removes a divot with every swing.
• Concentrated: A large oval like area where all of the grass is removed inside of the oval.
• Linear: Thin 1″-2″ wide strips, where each divot is directly behind the previous divot.
The linear pattern removes the smallest amount of turf as the current divot is a part of the one previous. In addition, leaving a 4″ wide gap between the linear patterns allows for a rapid recovery as the grass grows in from the side.
In summary: The suggested linear divot pattern could certainly be considered just one more “golf etiquette” related annoyance for the casual golfer. I know, however, that my new linear divot pattern has made my time at the range a far more comfortable/enjoyable experience.
As an added bonus, my superintendent has recently decided to engage me in civil conversation!
I’d love to hear your humorous stories of the driving range!
“The back nine can only get better!
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